


Can't You See How Much I Love You?

by elenam



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: F/M, Idiots in Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-05-23 12:24:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14934224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elenam/pseuds/elenam
Summary: It all started with a couple of words: “We’re nervous to go back cause now we have a great relationship and we want to make sure we protect it”.  It was just too bad that Tessa couldn’t understand what it really meant.





	1. Nervous to Go Back

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! 
> 
> I'm really glad to present you my first story about Tessa and Scott today :) I didn't know if I really wanted to do it for a while, but reading all the great stories out there really convinced me!
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy mine too :) 
> 
> It's going to be a 10 chapters story in which you'll see Tessa work on her feelings for Scott. It's going to be a fun ride! The events are based on some real stuff that happened and stuck with me. I wrote my very own interpretation of them :)
> 
> Here it comes;

The recording of the “Tout le monde en parle” interview ended late on a Thursday night. Another interview that Tessa could check as done on their ever growing list of interviews. It seemed that ever since their gold medal performance in Pyeong Chang, everybody wanted to talk to them, from Guy A. Lepage to Ellen DeGeneres. It was overwhelming, heart-warming and hard to understand at the same time. They really were just two lucky kids who had chased their wildest dreams and it was hard to realize how much of an impact their skating had had. They had always skated for themselves, but now it seemed that they had somehow reached to the feelings of thousands of people by doing just that.

Tessa had felt very honored to receive an invitation to the French Canadian popular TV show “Tout le monde en parle” and she had enjoyed her time greatly chatting with the hosts, even throwing in a couple of French words herself. It was the least she could do after Montréal had opened its arms widely for Scott and her. They had been so well welcomed and had never felt more at home then in their neighborhood of Saint-Henry. Tessa was really honored that the Québec people seemed to have adopted them as much as Scott and her had adopted Montréal. She hoped that her love for the city and her gratefulness had been well showcased in the interview because they owed everything to Montréal and the team they had found there. Amidst the infamous dating questions, she had tried to put up front their skating and their immense gratitude for Marie-France, Patrice and all the others without whom their dream would have never become a reality. She was mostly satisfied of how it went down.

Even though she had had a great night, Tessa was glad when she finally unlocked the door to her cozy condo in St-Henry around midnight that night. She stepped inside quickly and closed the door, leaving the cold air of Montreal behind her. She took off her coat and set her purse on the floor with one single thought in mind: crawl in her bed as soon as possible.

As thrilling as had been the last few days of joggling with press and creating a new choreography with Sam for Stars on Ice, Tessa was exhausted and she couldn’t wait to get under her heavy covers for, hopefully, at least 10 long hours of undisturbed sleep.

They had flown from Pyeong Chang a couple of weeks ago, but she had yet to recover from the whirlwind of emotions that had been the last two months and, if she was being honest, also the last two years. It wasn’t a couple of days spent alone in her London home that had restored all her energy, especially since she had spent most of those days sick in bed, blaming weird Korean food and a downfall of adrenaline.

Plus, it was hard to spend peaceful and restful days when all she could think about was the void left by the end of what had been the best two years of her life so far. Tessa knew that she was in for a long run before she could finally find herself thinking back to all that had led to the Olympics without feeling the usual dread. It seemed to fill her whole whenever she found herself wondering about what was coming next.

For the time being, all she wanted was to push those thoughts aside, close her heavy eyelids and not wake up until late morning.

But, a couple of hours later, she had yet to fall asleep.

_« We’re nervous to go back cause now we have a great relationship and we want to make sure we protect it »_

Tessa was laying in her bed, the bright green numbers of her alarm clock reminding her that it was already 2 AM, but she just couldn’t get Scott’s earlier words out of her head.

At first, she had thought that sleep would come fast and that the rush of adrenaline she had originally felt at earing those words would fade, at least for the night. But oh she had been wrong! She kept replaying the moment in her head again and again, analyzing the situation on every angle, questioning every single words Scott had pronounced during the interview, especially that particular sentence.

She had heard right, yes? Scott had said that he was nervous to go back. And he was referring to dating. Which had to mean that a part of him wanted to try it; dating.

But was he really referring to dating or she had imagined it? No, no, he was! He had just been telling that story that everybody had heard a thousand times about how their 7 and 9 years old selves had to break up their “hot and heavy relationship” in order to concentrate on skating. So Scott had to be talking about dating when he said those words about “trying again”.

Hearing that from Scott had really surprised her. They usually tended to stick to pre-rehearsed answers whenever the relationship question came up in interviews, which it always did. Scott’s words had been shockingly unexpected and that was perhaps what had taken Tessa aback the most. It seemed more genuine because of the spontaneity of the moment and she wondered if it was Scott’s way of being honest without having to address the subject directly with her. Was it possible that he had wanted to test the waters, waiting for her reaction as he threw in the air the possibility of them dating?

Tessa scoffed to herself as she turned around again under her soft white sheets. Dating! Such an inappropriate word to describe whatever there was between them.

She wasn’t stupid; she knew that whatever their relationship was, it wasn’t a typical “just friends” behaviour. In interviews, she was always quick to say that people were getting the idea of Scott and her dating because of the choice of themes for their programs, or that of course they were close, they had been skating together for 20 years, they were each other’s best friends. She always carefully picked one of the pre-rehearsed answers they had. After years of media coaching, it became like second nature to her. So many people had taught her how to answer the trickiest questions that she didn’t even have to think anymore. It was safer to use those pre-made answers than risking putting herself out there honestly and saying something that would be either humiliating or twisted and misinterpreted by hundreds of fans.

Because the truth was that even her could see that there was more to their relationship then what they told people and what they told to themselves.

She knew other teams who skated together since they were kids; Meryl and Charlie, Gabriella and Guillaume. Those people, those skaters, they were acting like friends. They trained together all day, but then that was it. They laughed together and hugged, but in a clear friendly way. No movie nights cuddling on the couch, no stolen glances, no kisses every 2 seconds, no hugs to synchronize their breathing, no embraces that made their hearts stop and the blood in their veins pump faster. But Scott and her had all that.

A naïve part of her always believed that after the Olympics everything would just sort of work out magically without her having to do anything about it. She hadn’t expected to feel so lost and to find herself unable to sleep, the doubts creeping in her mind and stopping her from being able to put her thoughts on pause even for only a few hours of peaceful slumber. She had thought she would know exactly what direction to take with her life. That Scott and her would know what to do next, together.

He was her best friend, her confident, her rock, her safe place to land. He was everything she needed in life, yet she wasn’t sure if they were ever going to be just that, everything they needed. She wondered if they’d indeed end up romantically together like millions of skating fans seemed to think they would or if they’d both go look for someone else to fill that spot.

Scott had said they were nervous to go back. So he thought about it too, the possibility of both of them crossing that big fat line they had traced a while back with what seemed like the most indelible sharpie in the world. A line they had never dared crossing.

But he also said that he was nervous and that he wanted to make sure they protected their relationship. So did it mean they would never cross the line? Was it too risky? Were really a few kisses and sleeping together worth putting everything they had worked for so hard in the past at risk?

Tessa hit her head with one of her pillows as she groaned. Of course it was worth it. At least that was what she thought. It wasn’t just about kisses and sex. Being in a romantic relationship with Scott would mean a promise at a forever by each other’s side, having a family, growing old together and making common projects for the rest of their lives.

Deep down, she knew that no matter what, no matter if they crossed the line or not, there was no way she’d ever be contented with taking a shot at this with anyone else. She couldn’t picture herself ever knowing and loving someone as much as she loved Scott, no matter how hard she tried. She had never felt like she was the type of girl who’d dream about having a family, a big house with a white picket fence and a dog, but when she closed her eyes in the darkness of her room and she allowed herself to imagine her future, somehow, it always ended with a picture of herself, Scott and two or three kids sporting Scott’s smirk and her green eyes. They were laughing, teaching them how to skate, reading bedtime stories, snuggling the four of them in their bed during a thunderstorm and so much more.

She wanted all that and she thought she was ready to give it a try. She just hoped that Scott was ready too. At least his words during the interview had given her that impression. It was well time the both of them stopped hiding behind the on ice acting as an excuse to avoid discussing whatever was going on. They both deserved it.


	2. Families

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was supposed to be a fun day, but once again, Scott pronounced some words that would give Tessa a headache.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm happy to present you chapter two today! 
> 
> I'm really glad that some people took the time to leave a comment on the previous chapter. It means so much to me!
> 
> I hope you'll all enjoy today's chapter as much and even more :) It is longer than the first one and there's some interesting interaction going between Tessa and Scott. 
> 
> Chapters 2 and 3 are my favourites so far along with what I've planned for chapter 6 so it would be interesting to read your thoughts :) 
> 
> Please let me know what you think of it!

The day of the Ellen Show had arrived, but somehow, Tessa had made no progress regarding the promise she had made to herself; she hadn’t found the courage yet to address the subject of their relationship with Scott. It had been easy, in the intimacy of her room, to feel confident enough that she would do it and that they would sort everything out together, but reality was something else.

She and Scott had only talked a few times since the “Tout le monde en parle” interview. Their lives had been hectic and they were both too busy to find some time to simply hang out together and talk. Everybody wanted to spend some time with them, from family to long term friends. After two years spent on concentring on themselves and no one else, they really could not say no. Those people had supported them and they deserved to be thanked.

That didn’t stop Tessa from missing Scott though. She was so used to having him by her side that whenever he wasn’t, she felt half empty, as if an important part of herself was missing.

She had tried texting him, but Scott wasn’t really a fan of it. They had stayed on light topics and had thrown some jokes here and there, but nothing too serious. It was better that way; their relationship was clearly something they needed to talk about in person, not in short sentences punctuated by emoji.

Tessa just hoped they would find some time to seat down and talk soon before she lost all her courage. As days passed, it felt like she was less and less sure that she’d be able to pour her heart out to Scott.

So somehow, in the middle of all the craziness that their lives had become, Tessa and Scott had found themselves in LA, in a TV studio dressing room that felt way too fancy for them. Their names were written on the board hanged at the door and they were both getting ready to be interviewed by the famous Ellen DeGeneres herself. An interview in which Tessa knew she’d be asked questions to which she didn’t even have the answers herself.

It fascinated her sometimes to see just how much people wanted to know about her and Scott’s lives. How had they gone from two small town kids who loved to skate, to being interviewed on one of the world’s most watched talk show?

But aside from that, what Tessa feared the most wasn’t the interview itself. No, it was how she was on the verge of going crazy from being trapped in her own head. She thought she was going to lose it with every thoughts floating around in her mind. It seemed like she couldn’t catch a break. She was actually scared she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the interview, too absorbed by her own fears and doubts regarding her relationship with Scott.

She didn’t know if she should she broach the subject with Scott in LA. Or should she wait before they were back in the comfort of their hometown? Or was it preferable if she just waited altogether after their tours? Yes, she thought, she should wait after the tour season was over. That way, she wouldn’t risk making things awkward between them if her feelings weren’t reciprocated.

And just when Tessa made her mind, it all started again in the opposite direction; but what if Scott met someone in between that time? Yes, confessing her feelings in London was a better plan. But what if they didn’t some time alone together in London before they had to fly to Japan for their first shows? So LA it was.

Those were just a tiny sample of the daily thoughts that kept her mind preoccupied and prevented her from getting a good night of sleep.

“Hey look Tess! A basket of muffins and pastries only for us!” Scott exclaimed, excited like a kid at Christmas, “And look at those mugs! We can keep them as official guests of Ellen DeGeneres. They even put our names on them!”

Looking at him from the chair she was seating in, her hair stylist busy curling her brown locks, Tessa giggled at Scott’s antics.

He had told her earlier how he was nervous about the whole thing, even feeling as anxious as if it was a competition day, and Tessa was glad to see that the nerves he was initially feeling were slowly replaced by his usual fun and carefree behaviour.

“Hand me a muffin, will you?” Tessa asked, stretching out her hand. She hadn’t had breakfast, the nerves tightening her stomach in a knot, but she knew she needed to eat something if she didn’t want to feel sick during the interview. Scott had scolded her for skipping “the most important meal of the day”, which explained why he seemed so eager when she asked him for food.

“Yup! Told you, you need to eat,” Scott said before looking at the basket and picking one muffin, “Here you go, apple and spices!” He threw the muffin at her and she was quick enough to catch it, having already suspected he would do such a thing. After twenty years she tended to be quite good at predicting his actions.

“Thanks!” Tessa said happily, snatching a piece and popping it her mouth. When she looked up, she saw that Scott was still looking intently at her and she felt the air fill with tension.

“What?” she asked her mouth full of muffin. “Nothing, you’re just beautiful, with your hair like that,” Scott said with a shrug before dropping down on the couch and picking at a blueberry muffin himself.

Tessa heard her friend scoff as she was curling a lock of hair with her iron. She gave her a stern look in the mirror in front of her. Her hair stylist, Kelly, along with half the world, had the firm belief that Scott and her would end up married and she couldn’t help but react every time either one of them did something that she judged was proof of that.

Yup, Scott and her really needed to talk about their relationship because apparently everyone was except them. No matter if it was to decide that they were better off as just friends or that they wanted to take the next step forward, they really needed to figure it out, and soon. She herself could say that she had it almost figured out. She at least thought that it was worth the try. She just hoped that Scott was feeling the same way.

“Scott?” Tessa asked tentatively, well intended on finally be courageous enough to have _The talk_ they so desperately needed to have.

“Hum?” he acknowledged, his mouth full, crumbles of muffin falling on his lap. Tessa always found it cute when he looked like that; lost in his own thoughts as he was eating.

“We should go out tonight, explore the city, eat somewhere nice,” Tessa suggested, looking down at her lap and fidgeting with the hem of her shirt as she awaited his answer.

Scott looked at her in a weird way for a couple of seconds until he finally answered; “Yeah of course,” he said as he shook some muffin crumbles off his perfectly white shirt.

Tessa sighed at Scott’s nonchalant answer. They would go out together, that was a good thing, but it was clear that Scott hadn’t realized that she was asking for more than a fancy diner and sightseeing. She wanted a heart to heart conversation. She wanted to put an end to all the what ifs and jump right in the unknown. If she could be courageous enough to take center ice in front of thousands of fans, she could handle a conversation with her skating partner. She didn’t want yet another repeat of a night spent with Scott, pretending that his arm around her shoulders or his breath on her neck didn’t give her chills.

Maybe once they’d be out, breathing the energized LA air, all dressed up and sitting face to face at a fancy restaurant, maybe then Scott would understand exactly what she was talking about, that she was sort of asking him out. She hoped he would before she humiliated herself.

From then on, she had to put her worries at bay and focus on the task at hand; convince Ellen DeGeneres herself, along with the rest of the world, that she and Scott were just friends. Because no matter how hard people believe it, they weren’t a couple, not yet anyway. Maybe they would, one day, but today was not the day.

* * *

 

“So you’ll settle down, start a family?” Ellen joked on a playful tone and Tessa laughed as her heart skipped a beat. She wanted to scream yes. She wanted the whole world to know that it was what she wanted, but first she needed to talk with Scott. Because as much as she thought he might be feeling the same way, with him saying he was nervous to go back and everything, she needed him to confirm it aloud before she allowed her mind to elaborate this particular fantasy.

“Families,” Scott corrected on light tone and Tessa had to concentrate hard not to let the shock show on her face.

“So you’re going to stay together, but marry different people?” Ellen added, pushing the joke farther once again. It would have made Tessa laugh any other day. But not that day. She was laughing though, but it was entirely fake. All she could think about was how Scott had corrected Ellen; families. FamilieS as in two separate ones, each of them having a different family, marrying different people, having kids of their own, growing apart, maybe even live in different cities, not being each other’s most important person in the world anymore.

It was almost too much too take, but being the well trained athlete and media personality she was, Tessa pushed the unwanted thoughts out of her head to fully concentrate on the rest of the interview. She went through the ironically named “definitely not dating game” numbly, trying to not let any of her disappointment show. It came out okay even if she struggled with a couple of questions, namely the daunting underwear one.

Apparently her efforts at pretending worked because as soon as the interview was over and she found herself alone again with Scott in their dressing room, he nudged her on the shoulder; “We did good T! I don’t know why I was so nervous. Felt a little out of place at the beginning, but it was not as worse as I thought it would be!”

Scott had clearly not caught on any of her distress, which was half good because it meant she hid it well, and half bad because she thought he could read her better than that.

Tessa didn’t have time to say anything else before Scott grabbed his things and said he was heading in the shower to “take off those awful layers of makeup!”

Left alone in the small lounge area they had been provided with, Tessa let herself collapse uncharacteristically disgracefully on the couch, not caring that she was rumpling her carefully picked beige Club Monaco ensemble in the process. She had somehow picked that outfit to impress Scott. What a waste of time it had been!

She felt like an idiot for having imagined this whole fantasy about Scott wanting to try dating her. She had been too wrapped up in her own head, picturing her dreams as reality, and now she felt foolish. Of course he wasn’t interested in her like that, he never had been except maybe that time when they were still teenagers and he had asked her out on a date. She had refused, feeling so nervous and hearing her coach’s voice in her head telling her with a thick Russian accent just how bad an idea it was to get involved with your partner “it could ruin partnership. Never date. Understood?”. They had received that speech within the first two weeks of working with Marina when they were still kids. Years later, 18 years old Tessa still remembered it vividly and she had been too scared to try to go against her coach’s advice even if her heart was telling her otherwise. She had probably ruined everything that day, or maybe Scott had simply never really cared for her like that. After all, girlfriends had lined up for years after that.

Still, it had been two years since Scott had last dated someone. Two years of spending every single minute together, working for a common goal. She thought that perhaps something had shifted in their relationship. They were more mature, they were adults. She thought they could tackle that precise aspect of their relationship more carefully. Plus, there was no risk of ruining their business partnership anymore. They both knew that Pyeong Chang was it; their last competitive skate.

She had felt like Scott and her were on the same page. He had been so emotional and physical in Pyeong Chang; touching her at every occasion he got, rubbing her back and neck, kissing her cheek. Plus, he kept giving heart stopping compliments about her and her work. She thought it was a sign of something, of him indirectly telling the world how much he cared. Maybe she had been blinded by her own desires and had only seen what she wanted to. Apparently Scott was just being usual charming Scott, nothing more.

Tessa sighed, so much for her thoughts of grand gesture and honesty at diner. She was now left with having to spend an awkward night out with Scott, trying to pretend that everything was normal and not look too much saddened by the realisation that there was nothing more between them then plain old friendship.

Unless… She then got the perfect idea to make the night less awkward.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! 
> 
> So somehow I feel like no one saw the chapter 2 when I updated it? I'm going to try posting chapter 3 so see what happens... If anyone reads it and sees the update, would you be kind and notice me? Thank you so much!
> 
> Now regarding chapter 3, I hope you'll like the first part because it's my favourite so far! Tessa's idea to make the night less awkward is simply fantastic ;)
> 
> Enjoy!

When Scott knocked at her hotel room door later that day, Tessa was almost ready for their night out. The plan they had made was to take a walk around the city and then have dinner at a local restaurant. Scott had already said he had made a reservation for them at some place who had apparently really good ratings on Trip Advisor.

Tessa just hoped he wouldn’t be too disappointed if he had cancel it though, because she had decided that her hairstylist was going to accompany them.

It was the perfect plan. Bringing Kelly would lighten the atmosphere and give no wrong message to Scott.

Tessa had seen during the recording of Ellen DeGeneres that Scott didn’t think about her the way she had expected. When she had asked him for a night out, he had simply looked at her really strangely before agreeing nonchalantly, as if she was asking him if he wanted to stop for coffee on their way to the rink or something as meaningless. He clearly hadn’t understood that she was asking him out.

Tessa didn’t want to feel uncomfortable all night thinking about what she wished their night could have been, so she had decided that Kelly would serve as some sort of buffer until she stopped feeling butterflies and all that crap whenever she was alone with Scott.

She knew, at least she hoped, that things would go back to normal soon. Until then, she just needed to be patient and spend as little awkward moments alone with Scott as she could.

So to avoid something that might look like a date night, Kelly was coming with them. Tessa needed the presence of her friend to make sure she wasn’t sending weird signals to Scott and also to prevent her from doing anything that might be slightly humiliating.

Then time would do its job like it had always had. She wasn’t unfamiliar with having crushes on Scott. She didn’t count anymore the many nights where she had called Jordan in complete panic, fearing that her feelings for her skating partner would ruin their chances of winning the junior worlds, and then Canadian senior nationals, and later on the Olympics. Every single time she had ignored those feelings the best she could and they always went away.

Well, clearly they had never been erased completely because they were re-emerging pretty regularly. At least, they usually decreased enough for things to not stay awkward and for her to be able to spend some time alone with her best friend without going completely crazy.

However, said best friend had apparently not been expecting Kelly to tag along for their night out in LA. Tessa could hear the surprise in his voice when Kelly opened the door to welcome him while Tessa was applying some last minute makeup in the bathroom. Nothing to extravagant; it wasn’t like she had anyone to impress anyway.

“Hey Kelly… hum… I didn’t know you’d be there. Were you helping Tessa get ready?” Scott asked awkwardly.

Tessa wasn’t there, but judging by his tone, she could picture him nervously rubbing his neck as he was trying to make casual conversation with her hairstylist, whom he probably hadn’t been expecting to stumble upon.

“Hum, no. Tessa invited me to have dinner with you guys. She told me you were okay with it?” her friend replied and Tessa’s cheeks reddened even though no one could see her. So… she might have not told the truth when she had assured Kelly that Scott was okay with her tagging along. She had just assumed that he wouldn’t see any inconvenience in it since it wasn’t like they had planned anything serious; just a casual diner between two platonic friends.

“Hum, yeah, no, it’s okay. You can come, of course! Tessa’s friends are my friends!” Scott said and Tessa cringed. It didn’t sound natural at all. She hoped he wasn’t mad at her for inviting Kelly without telling him first. It was true that the two of them didn’t know each other that much.

Thinking about it, Tessa realized that it wasn’t her brightest idea. She didn’t want to be alone with Scott to not give him the wrong idea, so she had decided to invite the very one person who couldn’t help but make a comment or a snort every time either Scott or herself did something or said something that was, Kelly’s words; “couple-y”. Yup, good job Tess, she thought, rolling her eyes.

“You ready Tessa?” her friend asked from the room, probably desperate to see Tessa deliver her from the awkward moment.

‘Yeah! Give me just one more minute,” Tessa said before taking one last glance in the mirror to give herself a pep talk; “You can do this. It’s just like any other night you’ve spent with Scott. You did this a thousand times without ever feeling weird so this is exactly what it’s going to be. You’re an Olympian, act like it!”

With one last checking over of her outfit in the mirror; casual washed blue jeans, a white tee and a black leather jacket, out she was to join her two friends for a night out in LA.

She was ready to face the night; come what may!

What she had not been expecting though was to find Scott awkwardly rocking on his two feet, holding a damn bouquet of blush pink peonies and wearing dress black pants with a perfectly ironed white shirt.

At the sight, Tessa’s cheeks flushed crimson and she stopped dead in her tracks.

She was used to be the over-dressed one, not the opposite. And what was with the flowers? He had brought her peonies, her favourite flowers. Oh god, did Scott thought more of this night than he had let on? Or maybe he thought this was what she wanted so he had gone all in to please her? That was probably why he looked like he wished the floor would swallow him, because he felt trapped doing this for her. Tessa felt almost sick at the thought of putting Scott through this.

“Scott, I…” Tessa started, not knowing what to say. She hoped she hadn’t sound too desperate when she had asked him for a night out. Did he really felt obligated to buy her flowers and dress up? God she had been so inconsiderate! He was probably feeling really weird doing all that for her while he was obviously not thinking of her this way. After all, he had made it crystal clear that he wanted familieS; as in two separate ones. He was probably wishing he was going on a real date tonight instead of having to take his skating partner out for diner. Why did she always have to be so clingy?

But he was Scott, so of course he had tried not to let her down even if it meant stepping out of his comfort zone. And right in that moment, he was clearly kilometers away from it judging by the nervous rubbing of his neck and the red tinting of his neck and face.

“I, I didn’t know Kelly was coming with us. I thought, when you said you wanted to have dinner with me I don’t know, I just,” he rambled and Tessa knew she had to take him out of his misery, to take them both out of this situation, especially since Kelly couldn’t stop laughing silently at their expense, clearly enjoying the free show for which she had a front row seat.

“I… I thought you thought… I thought we were just going for a casual night out, sight-seeing and eating at a burger joint or something,” Tessa said, voicing what she thought had been Scott’s expectations for the night.

“I, right! Of course!” Scott said awkwardly, “Anyway, I’ll, I’ll just get changed and,” he opened the door to get back to his room before realizing he was still holding the flowers “Hum, here, I, I know you like the smell of fresh flowers so,” he said, handing her the peonies with a shrug.

Tessa took the flower and looked at him eyes wide, not knowing what to say.

“Anyway, I’ll cancel the fancy place and make a new reservation for three at a burger place,” Scott said before disappearing through the door.

And just like that he was gone.

“Oh good lord,” Kelly said shaking her head as soon as the door closed behind Scott.

“Don’t, say, anything,” Tessa warned through gritted teeth, holding the bouquet a little too tightly.

Her friend raised her hands in surrender, “I swear you too will be the end of me!”

* * *

 

Surprisingly, their night out was uneventful.

Scott had changed in a pair of jeans, the ones with a hole in the right pocket from putting his overfilled wallet in it for so long, and a simple black t-shirt with his favourite jeans jacket. A classic Moir look that was way more appropriate for the kind of night they were going to have.

Kelly was still going with them. The three of them had agreed on a walk on the beach before sunset, then trying one of the local burger joint, where Scott had made a new reservation for three, before ending the night by a stroll in the busy streets, enjoying the warm air, the shop windows and the streets lights.

As afraid as Tessa had been that the whole thing would be awkward, especially after Scott’s unexpected gesture, she was glad to find that the atmosphere was back to their traditional casual behaviour.

Long gone was the air filled with tension, the red cheeks and the stuttering. It was probably because she had pulled Scott of his misery when she had told him it wasn’t a date night. It pained her to know that her hopes of both of them feeling something more than friendship had been vain. Scott didn’t see her as anything else than a friend, a business partner. She wasn’t going to force him into something he so clearly didn’t want to do.

The beach was enjoyable. The weather was too cold for people in swimwear, even in LA, so they were almost alone. There were only a few people here and there jogging, walking their dog or reading a book while lounging on a chair, listening to the calming sound of crashing waves. They didn’t talk as they walked and Tessa appreciated the few minutes of peace she got, the ocean breeze whisking her worries away if only for a couple of minutes.

Dinner was good too. After years of staying far away from anything that wasn’t nutritionist approved, it was great to finally indulge and eat whatever they wanted. When they picked the menu, they didn’t have to go to the salad page or to check the amount of fat and calories in each dish anymore. They went straight for the burgers and ordered big greasy ones with a large portions of seasoned fries. Later on as they were walking in the streets, Scott even surprised Tessa by stopping at an ice cream parlor where he ordered them two scoops of cookie dough ice cream to share for desert.

They ended the night by walking slowly down the streets around Venice beach. Tessa was looking at some shop windows here and there until one really caught her attention. One dummy was wearing a black dress with coral floral prints. She really liked it. She thought it would look nice in Japan, April being the season of cherry blossoms and all. But just like every other store, it was closed. Though luck.

“T? You coming?” Scott asked and Tessa turned around sharply, realizing her friends had crossed the street without her knowing, too captivated by the dress to hear them.

“Sorry,” she said as she crossed the street quickly to join them.

“What were you looking at?” Kelly asked with curiosity, glancing in direction of the dress boutique.

“Oh nothing, just a cute black dress with pink flowers. It caught my eyes, but the store was closed. Anyway, I have lots of other dresses,” Tessa said with a shrug.

However, the dress stayed in her mind all night. Even the next morning, as she was enjoying breakfast with Kelly, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. So midway through her butter croissant, when it still wouldn’t leave her mind, she decided she was going to get it later in the day.

When she went back though, the dress was no longer in the window. Thinking maybe they just had changed their clothes on display, Tessa entered the small store and asked one of the clerk about it.

“Oh it was our last one dear, I’m sorry. Someone came in early this morning and bought it. It was a really popular one, but we have other models if you want to give it a try!”

Tessa smiled politely before thanking the woman and heading out.

Though luck again.


	4. London Tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A nice day around London, that’s all they wanted. And it gave Tessa plenty of time to think, maybe too much time to think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! The reception to this story has been really great so far and I'm very pleased to see the enthusiasm it got!
> 
> So today I give chapter 4, London Tour, in which Tessa will continue to overthink ;) Enjoy!

When they got back from their trip to Los Angeles, Tessa and Scott only had a few days off before they needed to once again embark on a plane. Indeed, only four days later, they had to fly across the world to begin their tour season. Their months of shows and events all started with Stars on Ice in Japan where they had a couple of mandatory practices to attend before performing in a few cities. After that, they were flying back to Canada again and then going once again back to Asia. They really had a crazy couple of months ahead of them.

Out of mutual agreement, they had both decided to stay in London for the few days off they had instead of heading back to Montreal. As much as they loved the French Canadian city, they both needed to spend some time close to their families and friends. Plus, the weather in Montreal was still 20 degrees below zero with possible snowstorms, no thank you!

So since they were staying in their hometown and giving back to their community was something they both cherished, they had agreed to dedicate a full day to their people. They had decided to go around London to try to meet and thank as much people as they could, give a radio interview and visit their publisher for the updated version of their book. They hoped to show their gratefulness as best as they could even if they knew that they would never have enough time for it. There was simply too much to be thankful for.

Though, while Tessa had been looking forward to their “thankfulness day”, she had also been apprehending it. Ever since her failed attempt at asking Scott out in LA, every time she was doing something alone with him, she felt a little uneasy. She couldn’t wait for the feeling to disappear. She hated how she was finding herself on the edge whenever he touched her or looked at her a little bit too long. She hated how her heart was constantly battling with her mind. One minute she was sure that Scott might have been feeling the same thing than she was, making her regret her decision to cancel their “date” night while they were in LA, but the next minute she couldn’t help but expect Scott to announce that he had met someone, that he was cancelling their tour and that they would never see each other again. She knew that the latter was slightly over-exaggerated, but she couldn’t help but fear it sometimes.

She was also afraid that eventually they’d lose skating and that they wouldn’t be able to stay as close as they were. What would they do when the tour season would be over? Truth be told, skating was what had brought them together and Tessa was terrified that their relationship wouldn’t stay the same without it.  
To add to her worries list, she was starting to realize that she didn’t know if she would be able to tolerate a whole life of feeling something more for Scott without him sharing those feelings. Would she be able to sit silently at his wedding, to watch him take vows to cherish someone else forever, to be the godmother to his children, the constant witness of his love for another woman? She hoped she could. She preferred a world where she could only have one small part of Scott than a world where he wasn’t in her life at all, even it meant enduring heartbreak for the rest of her life.

“And you better be feeling the same or…” Scott’s words took Tessa out of her reverie and she blushed as she was caught not paying attention to the radio interview they had been giving.

They had been invited to give an interview at a London radio station where someone who knew Scott worked. It had only felt right to accept and while Tessa was glad for the invitation, it was really early in the morning, she lacked sleep and she couldn’t stop thinking about her and Scott’s relationship. Those weren’t the perfect conditions to work with and she was ashamed to admit that she hadn’t been listening to Scott’s latest answer at all. All she had heard was that she was supposed to feel the same way about working with him again in the future or something…

She rushed to answer, not wanting to make Scott feel like what he had been saying didn’t matter to her, because it was absolutely not true; “I do, I do, I absolutely do,”

She hoped it hadn’t been too obvious for the people listening to the interview just how deep in thought she had been, or how eager she was to reassure Scott that she really wanted to pursue some sort of work with him. If she was honest, she had to say that she would agree to almost anything as long as it kept Scott a part of her life, either it was touring until they were both 50 years old or moving across the world to coach with him. She’d do about anything for him. The last thing she wanted was for him to think the opposite.

Fortunately for her, she had time to make up for her absence during the rest of the interview and it went without a glitch. She hoped that her little moment of inattention had been forgotten by anybody who had been listening, especially by Scott.

* * *

 When they left the radio station around an hour later, Tessa was glad to note that her day-dreaming moment didn’t seem to have bothered Scott since all he could talk about was food. It was true that they were both feeling really hungry. Neither of them had had any breakfast, except for a very large cup of coffee to wake them up, cappuccino for Scott and flat white for Tessa, of course. The interview had started way too early for Tessa to take time to eat anything. In her book, no food could be consummated before 6 o’clock. Actually she thought that no nothing should be done before 6 o’clock, but her life as an athlete had her used to making some sacrifices. Still, after the Olympics, she had stopped waking up at dawn, and it was hard to get back to it.

“You wanna head somewhere to grab a bite before we continue our London tour?” Scott asked as they took place in his car, with him behind the wheel.

Tessa was about the answer his question, but the loud grumble of her stomach was quicker. She let out a loud laugh to follow the noise.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Scott joked with a wink before turning the key in the ignition and driving out of the parking lot.

They drove quietly around London, no words needed to be said, Tessa loved when they could just be. Sitting together in silence and enjoying each other’s company was something they hadn’t done in a while, their crazy schedules not leaving a lot of time for it.

After a couple of minutes of driving around in silence, Scott eventually parked the car in front of The Lady Bag, a place they had grown accustomed to visit whenever they were in town. Tessa liked the ambiance of the place with its unique décor, but more than that, what she mostly loved was how Scott and her were never disturbed every time they chose to eat there. One of the things Tessa loved most about her hometown was how much people respected their need for privacy. Ever since they were kids, the support they had received from both Ilderton and London had been tremendous.

Tessa loved when people enjoyed their skating and when they felt invested in her and Scott’s story, but she also enjoyed the moments when they could simply be without someone shoving a camera in their faces every two seconds. Some people tended to forget that they were just two real people who wanted their private lives to stay private. The Lady Bag usually offered them that safe secluded space where they could be the two anonymous kids from London that they once were.

Smiling at the thought of eating in what had become a personal haven, Tessa unhooked her seatbelt and looked at Scott; “Good choice, I’m starving,” she stated before hopping off the car.

Scott opened the door of the bakery for her and as soon as she was inside, delicious aromas of freshly brewed coffee and morning baked pastries filled her nose.

Her stomach grumbled once more, urging her to choose something.

“What do you want?” Scott asked, having already ordered himself; a black coffee and a banana muffin. He didn’t even need to look at the menu since he almost always ordered the same thing.  
Her on the other hand, she had her eyes riveted to the pastries on display and she wasn’t able to choose.

“Tess?” Scott asked once again, chuckling a little as he saw her almost drooling at the sight in front of her.

“Hum…” she said absently, clearly indecisive in front of so many options.

“Flat white?” he suggested with a wink and she blushed.

God, since when did she blush when Scott teased her? She wasn’t a teenage girl on a date with her crush. She was a 28 years old eating breakfast with her best friend of twenty years. A best friend who in two decades had also seen her at her worst, one of the worsts being the very same morning when he had picked her up for their day.

She had only been woken up for 15 minutes when Scott had pulled in front of her house. She had not put on any makeup and hadn’t been able to utter a single word for at least half an hour. She had said it before, she hated waking up before the sun was up. And she hated that she hadn’t eaten anything before. She was so hungry that she couldn’t choose between a scone, a croissant or a muffin.

“Did you chose something to eat Tessa?” Scott once again asked, clearly too hungry to wait a minute more.

“I can’t make up my mind between the raspberry and lemon scone or the wild blueberry muffin,” she said, biting her lip.

“She’ll have both,” Scott told the cashier before giving her a wink and Tessa once again blushed. The blushing thing really needed to stop!

Scott paid for their order while she went to choose them a place to eat; a small booth in a secluded corner. He joined her shortly after and they sat in silence, munching on their respective pastries quietly.

“I’m sorry if I came on too strong earlier, about you working with me in the future,” Scott began later, after he finished his banana muffin,

Tessa couldn’t believe what she was hearing; “What? No! I’m the one who’s sorry! I was just lost in my own thoughts when you said it and it took me some time to answer,” she said, hoping the explanation was enough. She really didn’t want him to go on believing she didn’t want to work with him anymore. It actually was the complete opposite. She hoped they’d get to work together forever. If age wasn’t a factor, she’d be ready to train with Scott for the Olympics for a hundred years more.

“Are you sure? Because I would really love to continue touring with you and stuff, maybe even coach with you in the future, but I understand if you have other plans. I just don’t want you to feel obligated to work with me or anything,” Scott added with care.

Tessa smiled, “Scott, I really want all that too. Yes, I want to go to school and do some business, but at the end of the day, skating with you will always remain my number one favourite thing in the world,” she admitted truthfully.

Scott looked at her pensively for a moment and Tessa hoped that she didn’t reveal too much or made him uncomfortable with her statement.

The look in his eyes was unreadable. Scott took one of her hand in his and just as he was about to open his mouth to say something else, the kind woman who owned The Lady Bag approached them shyly with her phone in her hands.

“I’m sorry,” she said tentatively, “But would you two mind posing for a picture? It would really make great publicity for us that two young Canadian athletes like you decided to have breakfast here!”

And since they were nobody without the support of their fans or their local community, they both agreed to take the photo.

Later that night, as she laid in her bed, scrolling down her Instagram feed and looking at pictures of her friends and some others in which she had been tagged, Tessa stumbled upon the picture they had taken in the morning, the one in front of The Lady Bag, and she wondered again what Scott had been about to say in that split second before they were interrupted. She’d probably never know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They were almost there! Scott almost confessed something. What do you think it was ;) ? 
> 
> If you liked it please, please leave a comment. I enjoy so much reading all your thoughts :)


	5. Roman Holiday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman Holiday had always been one of her favourite movies, but it was the first time she had fallen asleep on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Already chapter 5! This goes by so fast! Yet, those two take a long time to realize what's in front of them ;)
> 
> Enjoy!

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Three knocks, Scott was there, Tessa realized as she climbed down the stairs two at a time to open the door for him. He had a key to her house since forever, but somehow he forgot it every time he was coming to her place.

“Hey!” She greeted as she let him in.

“I brought reinforcement: popcorn, Lindt salted caramel chocolate, raspberry gummies and,” he paused for a dramatic effect, taking the movie from behind his back to show it to her; “I thought we were due for a good old Roman Holiday,”

Tessa almost melted right there. This; this was exactly why she loved him. No other guy had ever been as thoughtful with her than Scott was. She knew he wasn’t as much of an Audrey Hepburn fan than she was, yet he always suggested one of her movies anyway. He only did it because he knew it pleased her. She would never find anyone to measure up.

“You were not obligated to bring it, we can rent something we would both love,” Tessa said, only half-heartedly. It had been so long since she had time to watch a movie. She really was in need of a good Hepburn classic.

“Nah, Roman Holiday is one of my favourite too!” And that was true. Deep down, Scott was a romantic guy even he tried to not let it show so much, often failing miserably.

“Okay then, but you really have to help me pack first,” Tessa said, dead serious.

They were leaving for Japan in only a couple of hours and she had yet to finish packing her suitcases. She usually was the first of them to finish, but between her many contracts, photoshoots, appearances and interviews, plus time spent with her family, seeing her sister and hugging her niece, she had run out of time. When she had told Scott about it over the phone, he had instantly offered to help her.

“What about you? Are you done packing?” she asked him as she guided him up the stairs, hoping he was.

He looked at her sheepishly.

“Scott! You can’t be here then! Go back to your place and finish your bags! We leave tomorrow!” Tessa chastised.

“It’s okay Tess, I’ll do it when I get back later tonight. You know me, a couple of black tees, a cap, my jeans jacket, Canada gear and my skates. I don’t need anything more,” he shrugged and Tessa dropped the subject. She needed Scott’s help too much to send him home.

They reached her room and she saw Scott take in the amount of work they had to do. She had put everything she needed on her bed and every inches of it was covered with either clothes, shoes, books, makeup; anything she might need and anything she would never need.

“All this? Really?” he asked, already knowing the answer. No matter the amount of traveling they had done, Tessa had never managed to pack lightly.

“What? We’ll be gone a long time. I don’t want to regret no bringing something,” Tessa replied dead serious.

“Hum, you forgot something though,” Scott declared, eyeing her bed with a smirk.

“What?” she asked racking her brain to find what it was. But she was not thinking of anything. It was impossible that she had forgotten something. Almost everything she owned was spread on that bed.

“This,” he said, handing her a bag. She had noticed him carrying it since he had arrived, but she thought it contained stuff for their movie later; food, beer, a blanket, anything.

“What is it?” she asked.

Scott only winked “Just take a look,”

He handed her the bag encouragingly. She took it, peeked inside, and gasped.

“Scott,” she said in a breath, “How, I mean why?” she asked as she took out the dress she had admired a couple of days before in LA. The most perfect black dress with a print of pink flowers. The very one that had been sold only mere hours before she went to buy it herself, bought by Scott it seemed.

“You seemed to really like it. I thought it would suit you well for our trip to Japan,” he shrugged as if it was no big deal, but Scott had always been like an open book for her to read. It was clear that he was really happy with the fact that she loved his gift.

“Thank you!” she said, hugging him tightly and kissing his cheek.

If they both noticed how long they hugged, longer and tighter than usual, neither said anything.

* * *

 

Two hours later, Tessa’s bags were all packed, every single thing she wanted to bring, including her new dress, carefully stashed in one of her many suitcases.

Feeling proud of their work, Scott and Tessa headed to her basement for a well-deserved break; watching Roman Holiday together.

They snuggled together on the couch naturally and Tessa draped a blanket on top of them before laying her head on Scott’s shoulder. She thought that this was how she wanted every night to be. There was nowhere that made her feel more comfortable than Scott’s arms. Dread filled her as she found herself thinking of the upcoming months, the ones following their tour season.

She knew, well she thought so, since he hadn’t really talked to her about it, that Scott wanted to stay in Montreal and coach with Marie-France and Patch. She had looked up schools for her MBA and Concordia seemed to have a great program, or maybe McGill. She didn’t want to leave Montreal either. Even though, when they had first moved, she had feared she would miss her friends and family from London, she had never really felt more at home than in the French Canadian metropole.

Maybe it was because of that bubble she had created with Scott, but those two years of their comeback had been the happiest of her life. She didn’t want to let that go. And she mostly didn’t want to live far away from Scott. They had been joined at the hip, literally, for most of their lives, she didn’t know how she could go back to London while he’d stay in Montreal, see each other only once in a while, lose touch. The sole thought of it made her heart ache. She was going to miss their nights together terribly if they did.

They had fallen in some sort of routine over the two years of their comeback. Once they’d decided to give another shot at a gold medal, they had decided to dedicate every moment of their lives to each other and it was exactly what they had done.

As soon as they’d started training, they had decided to go to practice together in the morning to start they day already focused. Usually, Scott was picking her up since he lived a little farther away from the rink. When she’d get in the car, he was almost always waiting for her with a coffee, knowing perfectly well how she wasn’t functioning until she was properly caffeinated. When she was finally up and ready to go, they’d train for around 5 hours a day. They’d alternate between ice time, choreography with Sam and gym time. Physiotherapy usually followed for her while Scott either did more exercises in the gym, ran errands or waited for her in the lobby of her physio.  
When they were completely drained, they headed back to either her apartment or his to spend the night together. They rarely went out with friends, preferring to stay in their bubble.

Before dinner they either watched a movie, read books or simply dealt some business stuff like Tessa’s jewelry line or media contracts. They then ate dinner together. Scott always cooked with a little help from Tessa who took care of safe tasks such as chopping things. After dinner they called it a night, both heading to bed early to be full of energy and ready to start again the next morning.

They spent so much time together. She hadn’t realized before, when it felt like things would stay that way forever, she hadn’t realized how she couldn’t live without him, how she would be lost if they were to end up in different cities.

Needing to voice her thoughts, she asked him quietly, in the middle of the movie; “Scott, are you serious about moving to Montreal?”

She felt him tense behind her, but she couldn’t read his expression since she was sitting with her back on his chest, his right arm draped around her.

“I… I mean Marie and Patch proposed it to me, but, I… I still need to make sure of some hum… things,” he said tentatively.

Tessa took in a big breath, “Okay,”

She had to apply soon if she wanted to get a spot in Concordia or McGill for a MBA. She couldn’t wait forever. She guessed she could apply both to London and Concordia for now, and then cancel later on when she found out where Scott was staying, but she didn’t want to look like the clingy girl who couldn’t live her life independently. Or maybe Scott was actually waiting to see where she was going because he finally wanted some time alone? Oh dear lord, she hoped it wasn’t that.

“What about you?” Scott asked the dreadful question and it was her turn to tense.

“Hum…”

She had to take a decision. She needed to look independent, confident. Plus, deep-down she really hoped Scott would choose Montreal because that was where she wanted to stay. It was where she felt at ease. It was a French city and she had always dreamed of living in Paris. This was as close as it could get. The city was vibrant, full of culture, fulfilling.

“Concordia,” she blurted out, “I’m staying here and applying for a MBA in Concordia,”

“You’re staying?” Scott asked and Tessa could swear he was happy at her statement. Or maybe it was just her mind hearing what it wanted to hear. She wished she could see his face but she didn’t dare moving in case he’d change his mind.

“Yeah, I’m staying,” she confirmed with a small nod.

“Okay, then I guess I’ll be staying too,” Scott said almost inaudibly.

She still heard it though and she could swear her heart was about to burst in happiness.

So maybe she hadn’t read everything wrong after all. Maybe Scott did say he wanted to try the dating thing at that “Tout le monde en parle” interview. And maybe the peonies and the nice clothes really were because he wanted to take her out for a date. And maybe he did want to stay in the same city than her because he wanted to keep spending time with her.

And if Scott noticed how she snuggled closer to him after he admitted wanting to stay in Montreal, he didn’t say anything.

* * *

 

Somehow, around 20 minutes before the final scene, Tessa heard Scott’s breathing even out and she turned slowly in his arms to look at him. His eyes were closed, his mouth slightly open and he was clearly asleep.

She figured that if he could sleep and miss the end of the movie she could too. So she tucked her head in the crook of his neck, that one spot she sometimes wondered if it had been specifically made for her and only her, and she closed her eyes. It took less than two minutes before she was asleep too.

* * *

 

She woke up by a fleeting feeling on her hairline. Her sleepy fuzzy brain thought it might have been because of a kiss Scott had left on her forehead, but when her mind got clearer, the logical part of her reasoned her that it was probably some sleep-induced hallucination.

What wasn’t an hallucination though was the position they were in. She was lying flat on Scott’s chest and their legs were tangled together. Somehow, they had found their way from the upright positions they were in before to that cuddling situation.

“Hey,” she heard Scott say as she stirred, rapidly untangling herself and standing on her two feet, “We fell asleep,” he stated, his voice hoarse from sleep, rubbing his eyes as he sat up on the couch.

Tessa chuckled softly as Scott stated the obvious, “What time is it?”

Scott took out his phone, “Shit” he cursed, standing up sharply, “It’s four o’clock! We leave at 10 and I’m not even packed yet,”

“Oh god! Scott! You have to pack,” Tessa laughed. This was so like Scott. Spending the night with her, helping her pack, watch a movie, fall asleep and then being late for his own things.

“Do you need help?” she asked. It was only fair to offer her assistance after he had so kindly spent his whole night with her.

“Nah, I’m good. Get some more sleep kiddo, we wake up early tomorrow. Wouldn’t want me to have to deal with more grumpiness than necessary” he said with a wink.

Tessa blushed. She really needed to stop with the blushing. This was Scott! Her friend and skating partner of twenty years. Plus, she was nearing her thirties. Thirty years old woman didn’t blush when someone they knew since they were kids teased them.

“Alright, good luck then,” she said.

Scott surprised her by pecking her on the cheek. Not that he never did, no, Scott was always demonstrating affection, either it was to her, or his mom, or his nieces and nephews. He was just the kind of guy who loved to show people that they were important to him and he usually did it physically. But it surprised her because of how it made her feel and how she almost blurted out for him to stay; something that would have been both humiliating and completely stupid since he really needed to pack otherwise they’d miss their flight.

“See, see you later,” she managed to get a few words out before she flew to her room, not bothering that Scott was still standing in her living room. He knew the way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, please, please let me know what you think. It means a lot :) Thanks!


	6. Karaoke Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why? Why on earth did people love karaoke so much? And what was in that fruity cocktail Kaitlyn had given her? Probably not as innocent as it had first seemed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! I'm glad to know some people have even enjoying this story! I hope you'll enjoy today's chapter; my favorite so far :)

Touring in Japan was as great as Tessa remembered. The shows were almost all sold out and the crowd was going wild every night with people standing on their feet for every single skater and cheering loud at their performances. With the stress of the Olympics gone and a clear schedule ahead of them, Tessa and Scott were having the greatest of times. No need to worry about technique and maximizing their points anymore. They could only perform for the pure pleasure of it.

The relationship subject was still something they didn’t talk about, especially since the night they had spent packing and watching movies at Tessa’s place, where they had woken up in the early hours of the morning cuddling on her couch, their legs all tangled together. 

The atmosphere between them wasn’t awkward, on the opposite, it was just… different. It seemed like they were always touching or holding hands or hugging, like their hands couldn’t keep to themselves, like they needed to anchor themselves to the other at all times. They were like two magnets drawn towards each other. 

The weirdest thing wasn’t how they needed to feel that proximity. No, it was how right it felt.

It felt right to hold Scott’s hand while walking in the streets of Osaka in the early morning, all dressed up in her new dress, enjoying the sunlight and the smell of cherry blossoms. 

It felt right to lean in as Scott kissed her cheek or her forehead to tell her good morning every day when they met for breakfast. 

It felt right to hug him tight to wish him a good night in the hallway before they headed to their separate, but identical hotel rooms. 

But even weirder was how it felt wrong to not be with Scott at night. Ever since that night back in London where they had fallen asleep together watching Roman Holiday, Tessa just couldn’t sleep well. It was like something important was missing from her. There was some sort of void that left her feeling uneasy and restless and she knew what it was; his name was Scott. 

Still, she couldn’t bring herself to voice it aloud or to share her thoughts with Scott. She didn’t want to lose it all. The last time she had been about to address the relationship subject, the whole thing had blown in her face. While in LA she had been really unsure of Scott’s feelings, she now felt more confident than before that what she was feeling for him was mutual, but she still couldn’t get the courage to cross the line. She preferred enjoying this “we’re friends but we cuddle” situation for as long as she could. 

So there she was, sitting side by side with Scott in a hotel conference room for breakfast with all the other members of Stars on Ice Japan. Her friends were all in some sort of debate as to what they should do after the show, but her, all she could do was reflect on what form her relationship with her skating partner was going to take.

“What about karaoke night?” Meagan suggested as she spread a bagel with natural peanut butter, taking Tessa away from her chain of thoughts. 

Tessa froze mid-movement as she was grabbing a croissant from a basket, letting the pastry fall on the table; “Ka-karaoke?” she repeated for clarification, even though she knew she had heard perfectly clear the first time.

“Yeah! We could all use a night out for fun, sing our hearts out!” Meagan replied, taking a sip of her coffee and looking at the others for approval.

Everybody nodded, seemingly loving the idea, except Tessa, of course. Why? Why did people love karaoke so much, she wondered? It always made her feel so uncomfortable! People were always asking her to sing something and when she’d refuse they’d insist until it became awkward for everybody and then she’d be left watching and feeling like she wished the floor would just swallow her. 

Plus, there was literally no one in the whole world who ever did a performance that didn’t make her cringe at the sound of their voice. She knew some people didn’t care how bad they were, but it just made her feel so uneasy. She knew it was stupid, but when people made a fool of themselves, she sometimes felt like it was her at their place and it made her feel embarrassed even if she had no reason to be. 

“I don’t know…” Tessa began, already thinking of a way she could get herself out of it. She thought that anything would be a good reason to avoid a night full of amateur drunk singers performing catchy songs. 

As she was debating her options; either out-flat refusing or saying yes and later on pretend a bad case of food poisoning, she felt a hand on her knee and Scott spoke up, “Come on T, it could be fun! You don’t even have to sing, I’ll just keep you entertained with my interpretation of Gangster paradise,”

He gave her a wink and squeezed her knee, looking at her pleadingly. And because he was Scott freaking Moir and lately she found herself craving his touch and his presence, she nodded, “Alright then,”

Scott raised his fist in victory.

Tessa gave him a stern look; “Only if you promise I don’t have to sing,” 

“I solemnly swear,” he promised, his hand on his heart.

That is how she ended, 12 hours later, at a crappy bar in Yokohama, listening to her friends, who all had terrible voices, screaming instead of really singing, all the worst songs in the history of music.

Scott, as usual the goof-ball, opened the night with his classic,

Keep spendin' most our lives  
Livin' in a gangsta's paradise  
Been spendin' most their lives  
Livin' in a gangsta's paradise  
We keep spendin' most our lives  
Livin' in a gangsta's paradise  
We keep spendin' most our lives  
Livin' in a gangsta's paradise

Somehow she watched him with amusement instead of dread, but that’s where the fun ended. As always, she quickly found herself uncomfortable, listening to her friends distorted voices until her ears almost bled. 

The classics were all performed; Madonna, The Backstreet Boys, the Spice Girls, Whitney Houston. 

Verdict: no one can pull an I will always love you without sounding like they’re a cat being strangled. 

To admonish her torture, Tessa nurtured a glass of white wine, then another, and another and then a fruity pink cocktail that contained unknown amounts of unidentified alcohol, graciosity of Kaetlyn. Maybe it was the alcohol doing, but eventually her friends’ performances stopped being so horrible and she even found herself humming to some of the songs. 

It was only when she stood up to go to the bathroom, the room spinning a little around her, that she realized that 1) she wasn’t used to drink that much, 2) the cocktail was definitely not as innocent as it looked 3) it was definitely the alcohol that had made her enjoy karaoke night. 

“Woah there! You alright Tess?” Scott asked, catching her by the elbow as she swayed a little on her feet.

She looked at him and noticed that he had had a lot to drink too, his eyes outing him with their glassy reflection.

“Yeah, I just drowned my uneasiness for karaoke in Chardonnay and now I’m paying the price,” Tessa tried to joke, but Scott looked at her with concern.

“You want to head back to the hotel? I can call us a cab,” he kindly suggested, but Tessa shook her head,

“No, I just need to go to the bathroom, then maybe catch a breath of fresh air and I’ll be alright. It is not as worst as I thought it would be and I actually don’t want to miss Eric’s upcoming performance of a Celine Dion French song. I’ll stick with water for the rest of the night though.”

Scott laughed, “Alright, I’ll come with you,”

Tessa eyed him skeptically, “I think you might be the drunk one Scott. I’m going to the bathroom. We do a lot of things together, but that is still and will always be something I like to do by myself,” 

Scott rolled his eyes, “I meant outside, for fresh air, I’ll wait for you by the door,”

“Alright then,” Tessa agreed before making her way somewhat shakily to the bathroom.

When she opened the door, she almost knocked Meagan over. 

“Oh my god Meagan I’m so sorry,” Tessa said immediately, feeling bad for almost hitting her tiny friend.

Fortunately, she laughed it off, “It’s alright, you missed me by an inch,” 

Silence fell between the two and Tessa felt uncomfortable at the way Meagan was eyeing her, as if she was trying to decrypt something.

“Something changed,” Meagan stated and Tessa looked at her, her fuzzy drunk brain not really understanding what she was talking about.

“What? What changed?” she asked, clueless.

“Between you and Scott,” Meagan said simply, “And I’m drunk now so I might as well talk to you about it since my brain won’t stop me,”

Meagan had never been one to be shy of anything. Maybe it was a way to compensate her petite stature, but she was never one to shy away from something. If she wanted something she got it, if she had something in mind, she said it. So Tessa knew that it wasn’t just alcohol talking at the moment.

Tessa tried to refute Meagan’s hypothesis; “What? No! We’re… we’re the same, just friends, that’s all,” 

“Are you sure of that? You seem awfully close. Did you sleep together?” Meagan asked bluntly, and Tessa blushed at her friend’s assumption.

Was it really what her friend was thinking? That she was sleeping with Scott? How could they think such a thing! They had never even kissed! They were just friends! No matter how much she wanted things to be more than that between them.

“What? I… No! Of course not! Scott doesn’t see me like that. I…” Oh and why not tell Meagan the truth? She was drunk too, they were both drunk. Maybe they’d not even remember this the next day.

“I thought he had said something about us dating in an interview a couple weeks ago so I asked him out when we were in LA, but he looked so uneased and uncomfortable, like it was the last place he wanted to be. I freaked out and canceled the whole thing. Sometimes I feel like I might be wrong, that he might like me too, but I don’t know. I’m not convinced that he sees me that way Meagan. I wish he did though, I really wished he did,” Tessa admitted and it felt good to finally let it out of her chest. She had been bottling things up for weeks now, years if she was being honest. She was used to keep her thoughts and doubts only for herself. It felt good to finally tell someone about it, even if there was a chance that the person wouldn’t even remember their conversation the next day. 

“Oh Tess! Of course he sees you that way! He has been dreaming of being with you for years! You’re just too blind to see it!” Meagan tried to reason with her.

Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it really was Meagan’s speech, but suddenly Tessa felt confident in the way Scott was seeing her. 

“Yeah?” she asked simply for reassurance.

“Yeah! He’s just waiting for you to realize it,” Meagan confirmed before squeezing Tessa’s wrist and leaving her alone in the bathroom, with her words resonating in Tessa’s head.

Tessa took a couple of minutes to compose herself, go to the bathroom and then she looked at herself in the mirror intently; “I’m in love with Scott” she said in barely a whisper, “And he might love me too.”

Admitting it aloud was so delivering. And it didn’t feel awkward or wrong to say those words. It felt completely right. Now all she had to do was to say them to Scott’s face.

When she left the bathroom, she scanned the bar to search for him and found him by the door, just where he had said he would be waiting for her. When their eyes met, he sent her a wink and she felt her cheeks flush. She blamed it on all the alcohol ruining through her veins.

“Hey there,” Scott said as she reached him, “What took you so long? I was worried you were sick or something,” Scott said with genuine care and Tessa’s heart made flip flops.

“Oh! No, I was just talking with Meagan,” she explained, purposely leaving out the part about confessing her love for him to the mirror. 

“Good, you had me worried for a minute. I wondered if I’d need to take down the door or something,” Scott tried to joke, but Tessa saw right through him. He would have done it. He was that kind of man.

“Well no need to Mr Hulk, I’m alright! Care to join me outside for some air?” Tessa asked, feeling all warm inside at the idea that Scott was ready to break down doors for her.

“Lead the way,” Scott said before he followed her outside the Japanese karaoke bar, his hand on the small of her back. 

The street outside was still busy even if it was almost one in the morning; everything always seemed to be busy in Japan. There were lots of people on the sidewalk, scooters passing by in the street and neon lights from 24h hours stores lighted the night sky. 

There was a small park a few feet away across the bar and they both decided to head that way, yearning for the peace and calm it would offer in a city that seemed to never sleep.

The park was quiet just like she had expected and Tessa smiled as she took in a big gulp of air. She really needed that after all the alcohol and the crowded atmosphere of the bar. It seemed to clear her mind.

As they walked side by side, their hands brushed until Tessa felt bold and intertwined their fingers together. If Scott was surprised by the gesture he never let it show. 

They didn’t talk for a while, Tessa too engrossed in her own thoughts, trying to figure the best way to tell Scott about everything she had been feeling lately and how she had come to the conclusion that she was in love with him.

“So….” They began at the same time, when she had finally assembled enough courage. 

She chuckled, “Go ahead,” She was way too nervous. If she could postpone her declaration, she would do it. 

Scott smiled, “So I’ve been thinking,” 

“Yeah?”

“And… I mean, hum… since we both are going to live in Montreal next fall I thought that, I mean if you want to we could, I don’t know, hum…”

“Scott, just say it,” Tessa laughed at his struggling.

“I thought we could be roommates? Kind of like Kaitlyn and Andrew?” Scott blurted out in a one breath.

Tessa stopped in her tracks. Roommates? She hadn’t been expecting that, but it was a good start! It at least meant that he wasn’t fed up with her. It also meant that he wouldn’t be bothered by seeing her every day. He was actually asking for it. 

“Yeah…” she said in a too high voice, betraying her excitement at the idea of both of them sharing an apartment.

“I mean, only if you want to,” Scott added, turning so he could face her. 

He took both her hands in his and looked at her intently. Tessa got lost in his eyes and she felt her breath catch in her throat at what she saw there. She almost shivered under the way Scott was looking at her. Had he always looked at her like that? Like she hunged up the moon and the stars? 

She felt him start rubbing circles on her hand with his thumbs and she broke out of her trance.

“I’d love to be your roommate,” she said barely above a whisper.

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah,” she confirmed with a small nod of the head, still not breaking eye contact.

Suddenly Scott was way closer than he was a minute before and she found herself starring at his lips. If she just lifted her head up and inched a little closer…

The air seemed to be filled with tension. Her eyes were still riveted to his mouth and she licked her lips. Her mind was going at full speed. She was torn between crossing the damn line and kiss Scott with all she had or go running down the hills.

Life decided it would be neither of those two options. 

Instead she heard a loud cry behind them, “Scott! Tessa! There you are!” shouted Patrick from across the park. 

They broke apart fast, cheeks bright red. 

“Hey” Scott said, waving awkwardly at his friend; a friend who had the worst timing in the whole world and who was apparently as tipsy as Tessa and Scott were. It lookedlike every single figure skater of the tour had decided to get drunk tonight. What a shitty timing!

“What were you guys doing?” Patrick asked innocently as he came within reach.

“Nothing!” Tessa said quickly, her face red and her heart beating fast at the memory of Scott’s lips inches from hers, his gaze on her, his eyes darker than she had ever seen them, his hands in hers, his thumbs running circles on the back of her hands, the tension between them, yet the softness she could feel as her eyes met his… Why did Patrick had to ruin that?

Patrick looked at her with a skeptical look, “Okay? Hum, the others are ready to go, we thought you’d like to come back with us,” he said and looked at them waiting for their answer.

The moment had been ruined, there was nothing left to do than go back to the hotel.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Scott agreed.

He took Tessa’s hands back in his and intertwined their fingers before they started walking behind Patrick. 

“We’ll talk about this again, promise,” Scott said in her ear and Tessa felt happier than she had ever been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed this chapter, please please let me know :)


	7. Doubts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if that was what every next day would look like from then on? What if Scott and her were too different? Only one person could help her on that matter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! So I wanted to say thank you for all the positive things you had to say about chapter 6! It was really great to read your thoughts :)
> 
> Today's chapter is filled in with more overthinking from Tessa because of course she couldn't just take things simple after what happened ;) 
> 
> Enjoy! 
> 
> (For those who wonder, I've been working here and there on something from Scott's POV, I'm just still not sure if I should rewrite the full thing with his POV, or just one wrap up chapter? Any thoughts? Thanks!)

They didn’t talk about it again.

Days later, when they were back in the comfort of their homes in London, they had yet to talk about that almost kiss that had happened, or more accurately not happened, between them in a random park in front of a shabby bar in Japan.

The day after the almost kiss, they had had trouble finding a single minute to themselves and when they finally did, Tessa was too busy nursing her hangover to find the will to talk about their relationship with Scott. When she had had an hour for herself, all she had wanted was to close the curtains, crawl underneath the sheets of her hotel bed and try to make the horrible headache disappear. Scott had texted her, wanting to meet for dinner, but she had missed it, fast asleep.

In the days that had followed, they were always in group until they boarded the plane for Canada. The plane was completely booked and they weren’t seating side by side so Tessa thought they could find the time when they’d get home. They had parted ways at the airport in London with once again the promise to “talk about it”.

But life got in the way.

Tessa had been busier than ever, loading her “free” days with as much photoshoots and appearances as she could. She wanted to build her brand, grasp the opportunities as they came. She knew it wouldn’t last forever. They were currently Canada’s sweethearts, but it was just until another story replaced theirs in the hearts of Canadians. She wanted to say yes to as many things as she could before the phone stopped ringing and people forgot about them. It was now or never.

Scott had always been less passionate about this than she was. He preferred the comfort of home and wasn’t at ease in front of a camera. So even though he got emails and offers more than he could possibly deal with, he turned them down, except than Saffron Road one since he knew just how much Tessa loved the brand.

He preferred to visit primary schools than take photos and it was part of the reason why Tessa loved him so much; because he was not afraid of standing for what he wanted. It would have been easy for him to bend and do what people wanted, but he would not have been comfortable in that role. Tessa admired him for not letting the pressure of acting a certain way get in the way of his principles.

So Scott had told Tessa over the phone that he had decided to stay in London, spend time with his family and work a little at the Moir’s skating shop before they were headed to Halifax for the Canadian tour of Stars on Ice.

Tessa was glad for him, she knew that it was what he wanted, but she still felt a little pang in her chest when she realized that it meant she wouldn’t have time to see him in between all her contracts. She had hoped he would join her for one trip at least, to Montreal maybe to see Marie and Patch, but he didn’t. She tried to convince herself that it wasn’t that bad, that they’d see each other soon enough and that they would have plenty of time to talk about what had happened after that infamous karaoke night.

But the more the days passed and the more Tessa was starting to think that they would never address the subject, that too much time would have passed and that it would be too late to talk again about a non-existent kiss that had almost happened between them when they were both drunk. Maybe Scott had even changed his mind about being her roommate? Oh dear lord, she hoped she hadn’t come on too strong and hadn’t scared him off with her eagerness at the idea of them living together the next year.

She tried not to overthink it during her photoshoots, but when she finally had a couple of minutes to herself and called to see if Scott was free only to have him turn her down because he was flying to Calgary to see his niece Charlotte, Tessa couldn’t take it anymore.

She knew she had to talk about it with someone before she imploded.

So she put on her comfiest fuzzy socks, the pink ones coated in karité butter, served herself a large glass of chocolate milk, picked up her laptop and sat on her white coach before she clicked on the Facetime icon to call the one person who would be able to help her; her sister Jordan.

It didn’t take long before the loading image changed to the bright smile of her older sister, but said smile faded as soon as Jordan took in Tessa’s appearance.

“Tess? Are you alright? You look… drained,” her sister said as a salutation and Tessa rolled her eyes.

“Jeez Jordan! How nice of you,” she said sarcastically.

“You know what I mean Tess, I’m just worried for you. You’re everywhere nowadays, always on the go, going from a city to another, lining up photoshoots, killing yourself over work” she looked at Tessa pointedly, waiting for her sister to admit she was over-working herself.

“I’m not, I, I love it actually, you know how I am,”

“Then why do you look like you’re about to cripple down from fatigue?”

Tessa sighed loudly, “I have lots of stuff on my mind, it’s actually why I called you,”

“Let me guess, Scott?” Jordan said and Tessa blushed. Was she that easy to read? Did the whole world really know more about her than she seemed to know herself?

“How? I mean, what makes you think that?” she said ratter defensively.

“Oh come on Tess! Of course it is about Scott. I was waiting for it actually. The Olympics are over and so is your two years plan. You have to find what you want to do for the rest of your life, what role Scott will play in it, so of course you have doubts and fears! I know you, you always overthink everything!”

“We almost kissed,” Tessa blurted out with no preamble. No need to beat around the bush for hours. This was why she had called Jordan in the first place.

“What?” For once, her sister seemed genuinely surprised at the statement. “Good,” Tessa thought, “now she can’t say that I’m that predictable”.

“We almost kissed,” she repeated to her sister even though she had understood the first time.

“You almost kissed,”

“Yes, we almost kissed, it’s the third time I’m telling you actually, you should start believing it maybe?” Tessa almost snapped. What is that unbelievable?

“I believe it with no problem Tess, what I don’t understand is why you didn’t kiss?”

“What?” Tessa asked, taken aback.

“Oh come one! We won’t start this again! Why didn’t you kiss? You better have some good reason Tess!” Jordan warned her.

“We got interrupted, by Patrick,” Tessa explained with a sigh. She loved her friend, she really did, but every time she found herself thinking back to that moment in Japan, she couldn’t help but resent Patrick a little for his lack of timing.

“What? No! I’ll have to talk to him! How could he ruin this when you were so close?” Jordan said dramatically.

“No! Don’t talk to him about it! He didn’t even realize what he walked on, he was too drunk. Besides, maybe it was better like that,” Tessa said, not really believing it herself, “We were also both drunk and I’m not even sure that Scott sees me like that,” Tessa said with a sigh.

“Oh you can’t be serious Tess! Scott has been dreaming about this for years!” Jordan exclaimed.

“You really think so? Than why hasn’t he done anything? We almost kissed days ago! He told me we would talk about it, but we never did! We didn’t even see each other since we got back! I’m always busy working and he wants to spend time with his family. Maybe it’s better that way, maybe we are not meant to be together. Maybe we’re too different. I mean, I could never be the right girl for him. I’m not ready to settle down, I want to continue skating in shows for a while, go to school. He probably wants a family and I’m not ready for that. Besid-,”

“Okay! Stop here Tess! What the hell is that? Do you seriously think that you and Scott couldn’t work together? Tess! You two have been basically married for years, minus the sex part. This would be no different than what you’re doing now, but you’d also have the benefits of kissing him and sleeping in the same bed!”

“I don’t know… I love him too much. I don’t want to lose him if he realizes I’m not the one for him’”

“Tess… I know this might seem scary, but I’m a hundred percent sure that you’re going to regret it if you don’t try. If you never talk about it, how can you be sure that Scott doesn’t want the same things than you do? And if you never dare cross the line, don’t you think that you’ll grow old wondering what ifs and resenting yourself for never trying?” Jordan said, putting some sense in Tessa’s mind.

The mere thought of growing old without Scott by her side was enough to make Tessa feel sick. Jordan was right. Scott was too important for her to let her nerves scare her off. Even if it was daunting to jump in the unknown, it was also necessary. She couldn’t spend her whole life wondering what if. It would be simply unbearable. She and Scott needed to sort it out, together, just like she had promised herself she would all those days ago before flying to LA.

This time though, this time she would do it for real. No changing her mind, no hiding behind Kelly, no deflection, no interruption. She would sit with Scott, sober, and they would talk until there was nothing left to do than kiss and give in to the temptation.

“You’re right Jordan, I have to talk to him. Thank you, for always listening to your crazy anxious little sister,” she said with an appreciative smile.

“Anything for you Tess,” Jordan said blowing her a kiss, “I’ll talk to you soon,” she winked before turning off her camera and ending the Facetime exchange.

Tessa took a big gulp of her milk chocolate before she rolled up her sleeves and opened a brand new Microsoft Word document on her laptop. She saved it under the name Talk with Scott.

She was and had always been a meticulous person. She figured that if she wanted to do things right this time, she needed to plan it in advance, make a schedule, write down deadlines. That way, there was no backing down.

They were leaving for Halifax a week later. That was it, the ultimate deadline she set to take time to talk with Scott. She had to find her courage before flying to Nova Scotia. She had seven days, no more.

She wrote down all the things she needed to do to make the moment as perfect as it needed to be:

  * _Buy a new outfit (something green to make her eyes pop out since she knew Scott always had had a thing for her “gorgeous green eyes”),_
  * _Make an appointment with Scott (ok maybe appointment was a bit too serious of a term? So… date?),_
  * _Get the perfect setting (a park, like in Japan maybe, recreate the moment?),_
  * _Make sure no one susceptible of interrupting them was in the area (no Chiddy 2.0 please)._



Satisfied with her plan, Tessa saved the document and closed her laptop before heading to her bedroom. She was too tired to continue, but it would be the first thing she’d work on the next morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought!


	8. Sticking to the plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She had always been good at sticking to plans. Never good at improvisation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay since the last chapter :( I've had trouble making this chapter how I wanted it to be. I hope it fulfills your expectations! 
> 
> Enjoy!

Three days later, almost everything was in order. Tessa had followed her plan strictly. 

She had first bought an outfit that she wanted to wear for the special night; nothing too fancy, she knew that Scott didn’t care about how she looked. Still, she wanted to look nice for what she hoped would be some sort of redefining moment in their lives. She had bought a green dress that she knew Scott would love. The cut was classic with short sleeves off the shoulder. The fabric was an emerald green; she knew then that it was one of Scott’s favourite color for her to wear.

She hoped that he would love her dress enough to find her beautiful, but not enough that he wouldn’t dare take it off because she might have also bought an expensive set of black lace lingerie too. You were never too prepared. Even if the sole idea of having sex with Scott made her so nervous that she almost felt sick, Tessa also found it really exciting, hence her impulsive purchase of the lacy set of matching bra and panties. 

When her errands were done, Tessa had then texted Scott, pretexting the need to see him to discuss important stuff for Stars on Ice before they left. Since he was used to Tessa being more in charge of the business side of their work, he simply agreed, no questions asked.

She had asked him to meet her at a park near her house. She knew that the place would be both romantic and not too busy on a Saturday night. It was the perfect setting; intimate and charming, yet also casual. She really hoped that it would help her recreate the almost perfect moment in Yokohama, before Patrick interrupted them. 

Speaking of which, after setting a place to meet, she had made sure that no one else would bother them this time. She had told her family and Scott’s that they had an important conference-call with B2ten on Saturday night and that it would be really necessary for them to not be disturbed. None of their families’ members had raised any question at that and Tessa suspected that it was because Jordan had had a chat with Cara who had told Alma, who had told Charlie and so on. Her and Scott’s relationship had been the subject of gossip between their two families for years. It was no surprise that her admission had spread like a wild fire. 

So everything was in order for the perfect night; perfect outfit, perfect place, no disturbance. Stick to plan, that was the order.

At least that was the plan until Tessa heard a knock at her front door around 4 o’clock. 

She prayed that whomever had felt the need to come to her door on a Saturday late afternoon would leave quickly. She knew it wasn’t anyone from her family since they knew better than to go against her wishes. Plus, they were all waiting for her and Scott to become something more so they would never ruin their chances. It couldn’t be any of her friend either since they never showed up uninvited. So maybe it was only soliciting? But on a Saturday, at four, really? Did people have no respect for anything anymore?

With a sigh, Tessa went to open the door. She hoped that she would be able to get rid of the solicitor and fast. She was in no mood to listen to a speech about the merits of a special product for lawn care or something else as useless. She only had two hours left to get ready before having to meet Scott at the park and she was far from done. She had to take a shower, do her hair, put on some makeup, and so on. She didn’t have a single minute to spare.

“I’m not interested in buyi-“ Tessa started before stopping mid-sentence at the sight on her doorstep. It was not a scout boy selling chocolate or a little girl looking to finance her soccer tournament. No, it was Scott freaking Moir, 2 hours early for their night. 

That wasn’t the plan!

“Sc-Scott?” 

He shot her one of his typical smirk as he leaned on the door frame, “Hey T, are you?”

“I’m, I’m good, but it’s 4, I mean, what are you doing here so early?” Tessa asked, slowly recovering from the shock of finding Scott on her doorstep. 

She needed those 2 additional hours that she was supposed to have. She was used to sticking to plans. She didn’t like improvisation; she wasn’t good at it. The last time Scott and her had improvised about their relationship, the only thing they had gotten had been one drunk almost-kiss. She wanted the real thing now, the perfect thing, and she was scared she wouldn’t get it if they didn’t stick to the plan.

Scott didn’t seem to think it was a big deal though; “I had nothing to do and I missed you. We haven’t seen each other for days! I figured we could have dinner together? Why wait until 6 o’clock to meet if we both have nothing else to do? I’ll cook!”

And just like that he had let himself in and Tessa was left in the hallway, dumbfounded. 

So much for sticking to the plan. 

“Why don’t we have pastas? Like a huge amount of pastas?” Scott suggested as he rummaged through Tessa’s cupboards and fridge which were almost empty as always. Who needed to know how to cook and to have a filled pantry when they were gone across the world for half the year anyway?

“A huge amount of pastas?” Tessa laughed at Scott’s suggestion.

“Yeah! Why not? You know I really love rosé sauce and we seriously lacked linguini the last two years,” he replied, fetching out the ingredients among the few supplies she had.

“Alright, hum, I have a couple of things I wanted to do before we met at the park so do you mind if I hum,” Tessa said, gesturing to the top floor. 

“Huh, what things?” Scott looked at her, waiting for her response.

Tessa shrugged, trying to pass it off as if it was no big deal; “Well, I wanted to, you know, take a shower and change, girl stuff,” 

“Why change?” Scott asked as if it was the weirdest thing in the world.

“Because, I mean, I’m, I should…” she trailed off. She knew she was perfectly correctly dressed for a night out discussing business matters with her business partner. She didn’t know how to explain why she wanted to change without reveling too much in process. Why? Why couldn’t they just stick to the plan like she wanted to?

“Hey, if you want to change it’s okay, it’s not like you’re any use in the kitchen,” Scott said with a wink, “But just so you know, you already look really good like that. I really love that top,” Scott said and Tessa blushed. 

So maybe if he did love the simple white-lace-shirt-and-blue-jeans outfit she wearing, she didn’t have to change? 

“Alright, I’ll help you then,” Tessa said with a smile. It wasn’t in the plan, but maybe everything would still go well without her having to stick to it point by point. She good try a little spontaneity. 

“Tessa Virtue, cooking? Am I dreaming right now? Or maybe it’s a nightmare and the kitchen is going to catch fire anytime soon! Should I just save myself now that I still have time?” Scott joked.

Tessa rolled her eyes, trying to hide her amusement at his antics; “I’m not that bad. I’m a 28 years old who survived so far so I can’t be that horrible at cooking,”

Scott laughed “You only survive because I feed you,” 

Tessa looked at him with a sheepish smile. He was right; the only reason why she hadn’t died of starvation and/or poached eggs overdose yet was because Scott had been cooking for both of them ever since they had to live by themselves. Especially in their last two years of living in Montreal, she couldn’t really remember a night where she had eaten alone, except when Scott met with his hockey buddies on Friday nights. She usually loved to use that time to spend a quiet night alone at home, reading a good book and eating whatever leftover Scott had carefully stashed in her fridge with a note. 

It then hit her full force; they were already kind of roommates weren’t they? Moving in together wouldn’t change a single thing except for seeing each other in the morning, which they already often did because sometimes they were too tired to return to their respective place. Scott already had his own set of sheets in her guest room in Montreal. Sheets she never changed because he was the only one using them anyway. He had a toothbrush next to hers in the bathroom and a Toronto Leafs coffee mug in her cupboards that was reserved to his use and only his.

“Were you serious about moving in together?” Tessa found herself asking before she had time to shut her stupid mouth. The talk wasn’t supposed to happen in her kitchen while Scott was chopping ingredients. It was supposed to happen in a park where she would have worn that cute green dress she had bought and her black lacy lingerie. They would have taken a romantic stroll and she would have brought up the subject carefully and seamlessly. He would have fallen for her charming speech and funny wit before admitting that he wanted the same things. They would have gone back to her place so she could finally show Scott what was underneath her dress. 

But there she was in her blue jeans, standing awkwardly in her kitchen and broaching the subject with no tact at all. 

She knew she was bad with spontaneity. That’s what happened when your life was planned to the minute ever since you were old enough to remember. 

But now her thoughts were out in the open and the ball was in Scott’s court.

Scott carefully wiped his hands on a red checkered cloth before taking in a big breath, “I’m sorry Tess, I was drunk that night and…” he trailed off, rubbing nervously at his neck.

Tessa felt her heart being ripped out of her chest at his words. She let out a single “Oh”, barely loud enough for Scott to hear. She sat on a stool at the aisle and she bowed her head down, eyes riveted to the floor. Her eyes filled with tears and she felt extremely foolish for both believing that Scott could have wanted to live with her and for taking his rejection so poorly. She wanted to blame Jordan for setting her expectations so high.

“I just, I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable with that,” Scott said in a low voice.

“It’s okay,” Tessa blurted out, “I just, I, I think I’m going to hum, okay,” Tessa said before flying out of the kitchen and up to her room. She just couldn’t stay with him. She felt the tears pooling in her eyes, threatening to spill. This was exactly what she had wanted to prevent; rejection. He didn’t even want to live with her, how could she expect him to feel more than friendship for her? Why did everyone had thought they had a say in her and Scott’s relationship? It wasn’t their damn business and now because everybody had mingled from Meagan to her own sister, she was left with all her dreams crushed. At least when she lived in oblivion the pain was tolerable. 

“Tess? Tess!” she heard Scott cry her name as she climbed up her stairs and ran to her room, locking the door behind her.

It was foolish and she was acting like a baby, she knew it, but she also didn’t want to act reasonable at the moment. She was helplessly in love with her best friend who didn’t share those feelings. She was perfectly entitled to act like a brat for a minute or two. 

She collapsed in a corner of her room, bringing her knees to her chest and she finally allowed the tears to fall.

It hurt so much to have her worst fears confirmed; that she wasn’t enough for him. 

“Tess?” Scott knocked at her room door, “Tess are you alright?” 

“Yeah, I’m just, changing” she said through tears, trying to not let her voice wobble too much. She was ashamed of her reaction and ashamed of being so vulnerable in front of him. She was used to put a front, act strong. She didn’t like the opposite.

“Tess, let me in. I’m worried. I didn’t mean to upset you, I,” Scott sighed from the other side of the door. 

“I’m okay, leave me alone please,” Tessa said, wiping her eyes. Her tears were slowing down and she knew she had to deal with the situation, find something to explain her weird behaviour to Scott. She had to shove down her feelings at least for the night. 

“I, no, I’m not going, I, I get it. I understand if you don’t want to live with me. I mean, I shouldn’t have dropped this on you like that.”

Tessa raised her head so fast she almost got whiplash; “Wait what?” 

Scott’s voice came uncertain through the walls; “I mean, obviously I want to, but I perfectly understand if you don’t,” 

“I do!” she said fast, standing up abruptly and almost knocking her lamp over in the process. 

“Seriously?” Scott asked in disbelief and Tessa rushed to unlock her door. She needed to see Scott’s face to believe it. If this was a joke she was going to kill him.

When she opened the door, Scott looked at her as if she had grown two heads. 

“Yeah, I mean, if you really want to. We basically live together already and I need you to feed me if I don’t want to die of starvation,” Tessa tried to joke, looking at him expectantly. 

“If course I want to, you know, for all you said,” Scott stated.

Tessa felt the relief flood her at Scott’s admission and her confidence was coming back after realizing that Scott did want to move in with her. It was just a misunderstanding. She apologized to Jordan inwardly. 

Now that that was settled, Tessa knew there was something else they needed to address, something she had been postponing. Screw the park, she needed to do it right then if she didn’t want her heart to explode from the stress. She had already made a fool of herself once, it couldn’t get worst. 

“Alright, there is something else I wanted to ask you,” Tessa said. 

She needed to be the brave one because she could see that Scott was about to die from the nerves too. 

“Did you also mean to kiss me? In Japan?” she asked softly, “Because you said we were going to talk about it and we didn’t and now we’re back in Canada and you haven’t said anything and it’s totally okay if you changed your mind, but I just, I just need to know because not knowing has been driving me crazy. I’ve been crazy since you said that thing about being nervous to go back in that interview and…” Tessa stopped herself as she realized she was rambling. Poor Scott, he was probably lost trying to follow her thoughts. First she had run from him with no explanation and then this? He was really going to think she had gone crazy. 

“You caught that?” Scott asked, incredulous.

“Caught what?”

“The nervous to go back thing? In the “Tout le monde en parle” interview? I didn’t think you had realized that I meant it,”

“You meant it?” Tessa asked with joy spilling out of her eyes.

“Of course I did!”

“Oh, I thought, since you told Ellen that we would have families, plural, I thought you didn’t mean it. That’s why I invited Kelly to tag along with us in LA, because I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable while I initially asked you out on a date,”

“So I wasn’t crazy? You did ask me out before the interview? I thought I had read all things wrong when I showed up at your room all dressed up with a bouquet of peonies and Kelly answered the door instead of you,”

“I thought you were only doing this for me, but that you didn’t want it. You looked so uncomfortable,” Tessa said softly as the pieces slowly fell into place.

“I looked uncomfortable because I thought I was the idiot who was in love with you while you clearly saw me as just a friend. I had made a reservation at some fancy place, ironed my shirt and even bought flowers. I could you think I didn’t want to date you? ” Scott laughed with affection.

Tessa wasn’t sure if she had heard correctly. She looked at him, eyes wide; “Wait what did you say?”

“What?” Scott repeated.

“You said you’re in love with me,” Tessa stated.

Scott’s eyes softened; “Of course I am Tess, I’ve been for a very long time,”

“Really?” Tessa asked, full of hope, but still needing some sort of confirmation. She doubted her heart would be able to take it if Scott didn’t mean it for real. 

“Of course I love you! Oh kiddo, we are the worst at communication,” Scott laughed taking Tessa’s face in his hands, his thumbs running gentle circles on her skin.

“And to say we take pride in telling people how much we are good partners because of our great communication skills,” Tessa chuckled as she buried her head in the crook of Scott’s neck. 

“We could certainly use a little practice,” Scott said

“Why not practice right now then?” Tessa almost whispered.

“Alright. I’m going to make it very clear. Tessa, I love you, can I kiss you?” Scott asked looking lovingly at her.

She simply nodded and tilted her head towards his, it was as clear as it could get. 

Their first kiss, the first real one anyway since their lips had locked many times on ice, their first real kiss was like everything she had ever dreamed of. 

When she was younger, she used to hear stories from her sister and her friends who dated boys and who said that their hearts were beating faster when they kissed, that they felt like their feet didn’t touch the ground anymore and that it was the best feeling in the world. Tessa had never had that with any of the previous boys she had dated. She even thought something was wrong with her. 

She now knew that it was just that she had yet to find the one, even though he had always been standing right by her side. 

Scott and her just fit. Their bodies molded together like they had been made for each other. Their kiss was full of bottled passion, but also tenderness and genuine care. Kissing Scott was both the feeling of exploding fireworks and coming home. 

It was everything she had ever dreamed of. What had taken her so long?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They finally did it! It was about time these two sat and communicate! 
> 
> Please, please, please let me know if you've enjoyed :) I need fuel to write more ;)


	9. 9:10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lazy mornings are the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> So this story is coming to its conclusion soon and I just wanted to thank you all for taking the time to let me know your thoughts on it :) It really means a lot to me to see that my work was appreciated, but also that I'm not the only one rooting for these two to get together ;) 
> 
> Enjoy this second to last chapter!

Tessa woke up slowly to the morning breeze and soft rays of sunshine caressing the naked skin of her back. Her eyelids fluttered a couple of times until she opened her eyes fully only to be greeted by the sight of Scott, still sound asleep. She was laying on her stomach while Scott laid on his side, his face was turned towards her with his left arm draped loosely across her lower back. Tessa snuggled closer to him to feel that complete proximity she loved and craved so much.

It already had been a couple of days since they had first kissed in her house and Tessa still found herself pinching her arms sometimes to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming about all of it. The whole thing felt surreal, like a fantasy, like all those dreams she had made up in her head. It was hard to realize that it was real. That Scott and her had really taken that next step in their relationship. 

She had not spent a single night alone ever since that moment in London where Scott and her had finally given in to years and years of pretending and bottling feelings up. It was just the best feeling in the world to sleep entangled in Scott’s limbs, his warm breath caressing her skin. Now that she had tasted it, she hoped that she would never have to sleep without Scott again. 

They were in Halifax for the Stars on Ice tour, hiding from the world in their hotel rooms whenever they could, sneaking out without anyone noticing. 

They spent hours showing each other just how much they loved the other; getting lost in each other, their naked bodies tangled together, skin to skin, feeling closer than they had ever been if it was even possible. It was like they had been made for each other and in a way it was true; they had been. They had grown up together, side by side, adjusting to the other as time flew by. It was a wonder that they had not discovered sooner how they were simply meant to be. Even if their families, their friends and the whole world had seen it, Tessa had been oblivious for years to just how much Scott loved her. 

Still, she was glad that things had turned out the way they had. She didn’t regret a single moment of their journey even if it had been punctuated with injury, hurt and girlfriends and boyfriends that kept them apart. It was also full of comfort, trust and tenderness. Scott had been her best friend before everything else and it meant so much to her. Their journey was theirs and only theirs and it was what had made them as strong as they were. It was because of that very same journey that she was confident that Scott and her were always going to be there for each other. Now that they had found each other, they were never letting go. 

“You really look beautiful in the morning light,” Tessa heard Scott say from beside her and she looked up to meet his gaze. 

His eyes were still clouded with sleep, but they conveyed so much love that her heart almost burst in happiness right there. This was what she wanted every single morning to look like from then on.

“I love you,” she said as a response. She kissed him softly on the lips and readjusted her position until she straddled him.

“What did I do to deserve this today?” Scott chuckled, resting both his hands on her hips.

“I just had a really good night yesterday,” Tessa said mischievously, bending her head down to lock their lips once again. 

“You did eh?” Scott teased as they broke for air.

Tessa nodded with a smile, brushing her nose with Scott’s; “And if you’re good at practice today, you might get lucky again tonight,” she teased.

“Hum, then you can be sure that I’ll try my very best,” he promised with a wink. “Speaking of practice, at what time do we have to get there again?” Scott asked as he broke eye contact to look at the time on his phone.

“Nine. I’m actually surprised that we woke up before the alarm I set last night. It gives us a little time to enjoy the morning, doesn’t it,” Tessa said, trying to get Scott’s attention back as she rubbed a hand up and down his naked chest.

Scott only looked at her, eyes wide, “It’s 9:10 Tess,”

In one swift motion, Tessa dismounted Scott and put on her robe before grabbing her own phone that rested on her nightstand. 

Three white numbers stared at her, mocking her: 9:10 AM.

But other than that, what Tessa noticed was the number of notification she had on her phone. Dreadfully, she opened her Instagram to see what had made the world implode.

“Oh my god,” she whispered as her whole face went white.

“Tess, it’s okay. No one will be mad. We’ll just explain that the alarm didn’t go off. It’s not like we’ll screw the whole number up, we’ll make up for the time that we lost,” Scott tried to reassure her as he looked around the room, trying to find where the hell Tessa had thrown his boxers the night before. 

“Tess?” Tessa could hear Scott call her name, but she was too shocked to answer. She was still staring at her phone, mouth opened wide and eyes round.

“Did something bad happened?” Scott inquired.

“Everybody knows,” Tessa whispered.

“What?”

“Kaitlyn posted a story on Instagram saying that we were both late for practice. Everybody knows!” Tessa said, panic rising in her chest. She didn’t want people to know. Well, eventually maybe, but not so soon. She wanted to enjoy Scott for herself before she told the whole world. She deserved it. 

“She what?” Tessa heard Scott asked in disbelief. She took her attention away from her screen and back to Scott who was crouching on the floor, looking under the bed.

“I found them!” he said as he showed her his boxers from the night before in victory.

“Scott! This is serious! Everybody thinks we were together last night, the things they imply!” She said, her voice high.

“I’m sure that all the things they imagine aren’t half as bad as what really went down in here last night,” Scott tried to joke, but Tessa only gave him a stern look in return. 

“Oh come on Tess! Everybody thinks we’re dating anyway, no matter what we do. They don’t have proof of anything and they still think we hide it from them. No matter the number of times we say we are not a couple, they never believe us! Plus, we could be late for many reasons that are not us sleeping together. We could have shared a car and it could have broken down, we could have had breakfast together as friends in a diner where a hold-up had happened, we could have both forgotten to set our alarm. Anything could have happened. Please don’t freak out over this,” Scott tried to reason with her. 

He embraced her from behind and Tessa closed her eyes, letting out a loud sigh. Scott was right. There could be a million reasons as to why they were both late to practice. There was absolutely no need to panic. They just had to hurry up and get to the rink. They’d make something up on their way to explain their tardiness. 

“Alright, okay,” she said.

Scott kissed her neck softly, “Good, now come on, we can share a shower to make things faster,” 

Tessa broke out from his embrace, “Scott!” she scolded, “We’re already late!” 

“Exactly, so what is a couple minutes more,” he said with a wink before disappearing in the bathroom.

Tessa was left standing in the room, debating her options. When she heard the water running though, she knew her mind was set. She would be a fool to not follow him. She’d follow him everywhere. To hell with what people thought! 

She wasn’t ready to tell the whole world, but she knew that she was going to be some time in the future. One day, when she and Scott would have talked a lot, moved in together and would be officially retired from skating, then it would be the right time to announce to the world what they already knew, that Scott and her were in love.

But for the time being it was their secret. She could have a little fun with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought of it ;)


	10. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happily ever after

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The epilogue to this story! I'm so sorry it took me so long to write it! I've been completely absorbed by real life and I never seemed to be able to have the time to finish it. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Tessa swore under her breath for the hundredth time that day when she took the chicken out of the oven and realized that it was way too dry to be edible. With a frustrated sigh, she threw her oven mittens on the counter and passed a hand in her hair. 

The whole day had been a catastrophe; she had first forgot to buy asparagus to go with her chicken, had gone back to the grocery only to select a lot that was clearly not ripe enough to be good, then, she had gotten into a battle with her honey bottle, a bottle that had stayed in her cupboards for way too long because the opening was completely stuck with crystallized honey. When she had finally opened the stupid thing she had ended up with some of the sticky golden substance in her hair and now, the cherry on top; the chicken was too dry. It said in the recipe to put it in the oven for an hour! She had put it in the oven for 60 minutes and 35 seconds. It couldn’t be those 35 supplementary seconds that were responsible of the catastrophe that was now her dinner. Could it be? 

She took in a big breath, trying to calm down. It was 5 o’clock and she had only about 15 minutes left before Scott came back from his work coaching juniors at the rink. Fifteen minutes before he was bound to realize that he would have to go starving for his birthday, because his girlfriend, who had absolutely no culinary talent, had screwed up their meal by attempting to cook it herself. 

The worst thing was that Scott would probably not be surprised. He had probably been thinking about an alternative for dinner ever since Tessa had told him in the morning that she planned on surprising him with a homemade meal. It was his birthday and she had wanted to do something nice for him. He was always so good at taking care of her and showing her how much he loved her. She wanted to reciprocate and had thought that cooking was a good way to do so. She should have known better. 

At least her cake seemed okay. Tessa had no merit, really. She had simply bought a box of cake preparation from that cute bakery around the corner who sold those for people who, like her, wanted to pretend they knew how to bake. She had chosen a simple chocolate flavor for Scott and had thought it was a better idea than to try making one from scratch all by herself. It was probably the best decision she had taken regarding the whole night. 

She had mixed in the ingredients, added and egg and some milk, and had put it into the oven for 30 minutes. It seemed edible, a little flat maybe, but edible. She couldn’t say the same for her attempt at chocolate frosting that was resting in the garbage, next to the honey and garlic chicken breasts that seemed dry enough that not even a dog would want to eat them. 

It wasn’t lack of motivation that explained her huge falling at cooking Scott a proper birthday diner. It was simply her lack of any talent in the kitchen. She didn’t know a single thing about sauté and julienne. She hadn’t been lying all those times before when she said that she’d die of starvation without Scott. All she knew was how to poach eggs and it didn’t seem fancy enough for a thirty-one birthday. 

“Hey Tess! I’m home!” Scott cried happily out as soon as he passed the door. 

They had moved in together in the summer, as soon as they had come back from their various tours around the world. Their time spent together skating in a different city every night had simply confirmed what they knew all along; they belonged together. They shared so much of their lives already and moving in together was something they had decided on anyway before the whole kissing and admitting their feelings thing. 

“I’d love to tell you it smells good kiddo, but it actually smells awful,” Scott laughed as he entered the kitchen and hugged Tessa from behind, “What did you burn this time?”

Tessa could have been offended by Scott’s lack of faith in her cooking skills, but she loved him too much. Plus, she was capable of a little introspective; she knew just how bad she was. Take out sushi would be way better anyway. 

“I tried to make honey and garlic chicken breasts for your birthday. I saw the recipe on Pinterest last week and I just wanted to do something good for you,” Tessa said as she shrugged in his arms. 

Scott kissed her neck softly, “You already did something really good for me this morning you know,” he said teasingly.

Tessa twisted in his arms to look at him, “Is that so? So does it mean that I don’t have to give you my other gift tonight?”

Scott raised an eyebrow in interest, “What kind of gift?”

Tessa looked at him suggestively, “The red and lacy kind,” she said with a wink.

“In that case, is eating really necessary?” Scott asked rhetorically as he went for Tessa’s neck, leaving small kisses everywhere.

“Aren’t,” Tessa tried to say but she had trouble finding the right words when Scott found that spot she loved so much, “Hum, aren’t you, aren’t you hungry?” she managed to say before a moan escaped her lips, “Scott”

“Hum?” he mumbled innocently. 

“You need food, it’s your birthday, you deserve the best,” Tessa argued.

“The only thing I want is you,” Scott claimed before putting his hand under her shirt, going for the clasp of her bra. 

“If that’s your wish,” Tessa agreed with a small giggle.

Because the truth was, she would agree to anything and would do everything for him.

They spent the rest of the night whispering sweet things to each other, Tessa showering Scott with her love. It was a way better birthday gift than chicken anyway. 

And as they fell asleep late at night, their limbs tangled and their sweaty naked skin in full contact, Tessa realized that she had never felt more content. She had everything she had ever dreamed of and she could definitely see her future with two or three kids sporting green eyes and Moir’s smirks while Scott and her would grow old together. 

She felt a little dumb to just realize that everybody had seen so easily what took her more than 20 years to see herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this ends this story about those two idiots in love :) 
> 
> I've started something, an idea I got out of the blue; an AU story about Scott and Tessa meeting because of a delayed flight at the airport. Let me know if you'd love to read about that! 
> 
> See you soon ;)


End file.
